


Not Quite a Mystery

by Akiraa96



Series: Not Quite a Mystery [1]
Category: Gravity Falls, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: (more tags to be added), AKA Pokemon battling happens, Angst, BillDip, Comedy, Explicit Language, F/F, Fluff and Angst, I mean what did you expect from a Pokemon crossover?, M/M, Mentioned Child Neglect, Mentioned emotional/mental abuse from parents, Pokemon X Gravity Falls crossover, Pokemon typical violence, Romance, Slowish build, Writers apologise for ignorance and shitty puns, we were channeling Bill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-04-17 22:17:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4683389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiraa96/pseuds/Akiraa96
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To Dipper going to Gravity falls every summer meant going home, adventures, and, of course, research. After all Gravity Falls was the town with the most sightings of legendary Pokemon, not researching something like that would be stupid! He didnt expect to be hired by his kinda former rival Bill Cipher for his ‘research team’. But it’s not like being on a teams a bad thing, right? </p><p>Tumblr blog: nqam-official.tumblr.com</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Can't see in front of you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted in time for the last day of BillDip week, also known as Day 7: Anything goes. Please enjoy!  
> ~Aki

 

    It would be their fifth summer in Gravity Falls and his day had already started amazingly; he was sleep deprived and had a headache. Wonderful, right? But it was his own fault, he had stayed up far too late reading yet another legend and writing down the important information it held. Dipper Pines was convinced he would crack the mystery surrounding Darkrai this summer.

  
    "Watch out, bro-bro!"

  
    Before he even realized what was happening, his sister already crashed into him and both fell to the ground.

  
    "Mabel! What was that? And get off!"

  
    His - older as she liked to point out - twin sister smiled sheepishly and stood up.

  
    "Uh... I was just racing with Marill..?"

 

    Dipper stared at his sister for a second before saying “Why were you racing Marill when we should be getting ready to leave?” He watched as Mabel simply did a little embarrassed laugh and said;

 

    “I thought it would be fun?”

 

    Dipper groaned and let his head fall back onto the ground. “Why, Mabel? Why? We need to get ready and go. Don’t you want to see Grunkle Stan and Ford again? Candy and Grenda? Everyone?” He then proceeded to scramble up and added “Not to mention, don’t you want to see Jirachi and Mew again? Those two love to play with you.”

 

    Mabel laughed out “Pft, aren’t you excited to see Celebi again, and didn’t that weird and pretty scary Darkrai both like you and that odd teen, Bill something? Geeze, what's with you and those two types. You’re whole team is nothing but Grass and Dark types!”

 

    Dipper rolled his eyes and stated “Well, what's with you and Water and Fairy types? That’s YOUR whole team!” Dipper would admit he expected his sister to stick out her tongue at him, didn’t make it any less annoying. Dipper just sighed and continued with “Let's just get ready, already, Mabes.”

 

    Surprisingly Mabel didn't let out another comment so about ten minutes later they stood side by side at the bus stop waiting for their ride. While the brown haired girl kept talking with her friend Candy through her Holo Caster, cheerfully telling her how soon they'd be back in Gravity Falls, Dipper distracted himself from the awful heat differently. He started writing in his journal again adding missing information. His research had been going well. Dipper was sure that one day his name would be known everywhere as the one who solved every legend that was ever created. Now, if he could just convince Mabel to travel to that abandoned town down south with him. He really wanted to go there but not alone. He and Mabel were a team, no matter how annoying the other could be at times, and they wouldn't leave each other. He went with Mabel to her stupid shopping trips and she spent hours with him in libraries.

 

    Of course, he knew Mabel was also busy doing her Contest thing, but still. They were Mystery Twins, always together. Nothing would break them up, that was what made their relationship great.

 

    Dipper yawned as he jotted down more info, right as their ride pulled up. Mabel gave him a nudge so he’d notice, and Dipper quickly put his journal away, clambering into the bus that would take them to Gravity Falls. Him and his sister quickly took their usual seats, as was now tradition, ready to do whatever till they got to the Falls.

 

\----

 

    "Mabel, Dipper! My favorite grandchildren!"

 

    "Grunkle Stan!", Mabel exclaimed cheerfully and quickly ran over to hug him.

 

    Dipper smiled and walked over at a more sedated pace, making sure he had all of his and Mabel’s luggage. Once he made it over to him he set the luggage down to give their Grunkle a hug as well.

 

    “Damn I missed you kids, you two always bring some sort of adventure and excitement to this town that not even Ford can!”

 

    Dipper laughed out “Shouldn’t that be a BAD thing, Grunkle Stan? I believe we have all almost died on multiple occasions because of us ‘bringing some sort of adventure and excitement’ here!” Dipper was already in a better mood, being back in the town that interested him so much, with the family he was closest to. A town where he had actual friends. And also a town that helped him further his research, since it seemed to just attract legendaries.

 

    Dipper watched as Mabel laughed at his comment, throwing in a “You know you love the danger too, Bro Bro, so don’t act like you don’t!” his smile growing. He always felt more welcome here in Gravity Falls. More so than he did back home, where he was teased for being more into research instead of Pokemon battles or Contests, his nose always in a book, or ranting about some new theory on a legendary Pokemon. Not like he was BAD at battles, not at all actually, his Pokemon were quite strong, but he just prefered to do research and learn more about the Pokemon that surrounded them, and the Legendaries that had very little known about them past a few legends. And as far as Dipper knew none of those explained even half the occurrences that were attributed to the Legendaries.

 

    "Kid? Still here with us?"

 

    "Huh?"

 

    Grunkle Stan and Mabel were already standing a bit ahead of him and looked at him in worry. Ah, seemed like he had spaced out again. That wasn't anything new, he got lost in his thoughts rather often. Too often, his parents would always say.

 

    "Yeah, still here with you", he replied and jogged over to them.

 

    "Mabel suggested we make pancakes for lunch", Stan informed him and took one of the bags from him. It surprised Dipper every year how fit their Grunkle was considering his age.

 

    "Pancakes or Stan-cakes?"

 

    The man let out a barking laugh just as loud as the one Dipper remembered.

 

    "Did I traumatized you that much with them?"

 

    "Yes", he answered truthfully. Those and Mabel's... extraordinary dishes that always had at least one ingredient non-edible for humans were all reasons he was the cook in the family. Although Mabel couldn't cook human food at all, she made surprisingly amazing Pokemon treats.

 

    "We're making pancakes! I am counting on you to make the ones you always make for our birthday!", Mabel told him smiling one of her thousand watt smiles he couldn't say "no" to.

 

    "As long as you wash the dishes, I'll do the cooking."

 

    He didn't mind cooking. It was fun and always a good opportunity to clear his thoughts.

 

    "Dipper, I wonder what we would do without you?"

 

    "Eat take out or at Susan's all the time like you usually do?"

 

    "Exactly! And that would get dull very quickly!" Mabel cheered in reply.

 

    Dipper laughed and actually kept up with the two this time, each passing around jokes and banter. After a few minutes though, a flier caught Dippers eye. He squinted at it before jogging closer to read it, his face only inches away when he finally managed to read the words. Seems like someplace was looking for researchers, someplace that must have an obsession with triangles with how many were on the flier.

 

    He was pulled out of his thoughts on the flier when he heard Grunkle Stan call “Kid, why are you so close to that thing? Most people don’t need to be close enough to a flyer to make out with it!” Followed by his Grunkle laughing heartily at his joke.

 

    Dipper flushed quickly and defended “Well… If I’m any farther away it’s blurry… And I’m not THAT close!” Embarrassed by the teasing.

 

    That shut Stanley right up. He proceeded to narrow his eyes and ask “Kid… how long have things been blurry?”

 

    Dipper stuttered for a second and replied “I don’t know? A few months?” Confused on why Grunkle Stan seemed so serious now.

 

    "Didn’t you tell your parents, Kid?”

 

    “Uh…” Dipper shrugged and said “Yeah I did, they said to just ignore it.”

 

    “SON OF A BITCH!”

 

    Dipper and Mabel flinched at the sudden curse from their Grunkle, who seemed incredibly angry and upset.

 

    Mabel seemed confused afterwards and said “Dip, are you sure? Mom and dad surely wouldn’t tell you to ignore something like that!”

 

    Dipper just shrugged and said “It’s not like its the first time.” Earning another sharp curse from Stan. Mabel seemed both upset and confused still.

 

    Finally Stan calmed down a bit, and after a deep breath, pointed to Dipper and stated “We’re going to the Optometrist, BEFORE lunch. You can’t just go around not seeing things properly, kid.” He then added as an after thought “After all, it could make you, I don’t know, miss something in the shop when you work. We can’t have you messing up just cause you can’t see properly.”

 

    Dipper nodded and said with a small laugh “Right… of course Grunkle Stan.” He was still the same gruff old man, even after all these years. Trying to disguise care and affection as much as possible. Speaking about old men...

 

    "Where's Grunkle Ford?", he asked after they had put their luggage in their rooms. As close as they were, at sixteen they didn't want to share a room anymore.

 

    "He's out of town at the moment. A colleague or something called and asked him to visit", Stan replied sounding rather unhappy about it.

 

    "But why?"

 

    "I don't know, kid. Just some gossip getting louder."

 

    For 'just some gossip' Ford wouldn't leave Gravity Falls. So it had to be important, important and probably dangerous if Stan wasn't telling them more.

 

    "Anyway, let's get you to the Optometrist."

 

\----

 

    A whole hour later and after a lot of reciting letters, Dipper was ready to choose the frame of the glasses he would get. It was quite... stressful as Stan told him to just get the cheapest but suggested some that were clearly not the cheapest and Mabel just threw everything colorful at him. Most of her suggestions nobody above the age of twelve would wear, he was sure. Finally Dipper ended up with a pair of black rectangular glasses with a thick frame. Mabel was somewhat disappointed he didn't take the pink Harry Potter styled ones.

 

    After getting the glasses purchased and the lenses fitted, the trio were driving back home, Dipper amazed by the clarity of the world around him for once. He hadn't even really realized how bad his sight was, exactly.

 

    "So, beautiful here?", Stan teased him.

 

    "Well, yeah. I spent months in unclarity. It made school horrible.” Dipper shrugged with a slight blush. He was still marveling at the world around him. He hadn’t realized how much texture and details the world had. Even the CLOUDS had texture and details.  

 

    Mabel laughed and exclaimed “The look on your face, it's like you’re seeing the world for the first time! Jeez Dip, how blind were you?”

 

    Dipper blushed more and defended “It kinda is like that! Mabel, I forgot that the world had so much DETAIL. Like, the clouds have a TEXTURE. There not just white blobs! It’s amazing!”

 

    Mabel beamed and stated “Thats great Dip! Glad to see you so happy!”

 

    Dipper just blushed more before going back to his admiring the world. Not to long after, they pulled back into the Mystery Shack. The three of them quickly climbed out of the car, heading inside.

 

    Dipper sighed and stated "I'm going to start making our lunch now." Before quickly hurrying to the kitchen to start. He then proceeded through the soothing process of cooking. The more time he spent in front of the stove top the louder Mabel's cheerful chanting of "Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!" became that didn't even stop when the small family sat at the table each a small tower of pancakes in front of them. Amused Dipper watched his sister and Grunkle devour one after another.

 

    "I'm full!", Mabel declared after her tenth if Dipper had counted right.

 

    "I'd be surprised if you weren't."

 

    Mabel stuck out her tongue and stood up. Twelve or sixteen, in some points she hadn't changed at all.

 

    "Time to wash the dishes! Up with you Grunkle Stan!"

 

    The old man grumbled and both of them got to work. Dipper watched the duo for a few seconds before standing up himself. He wanted to go into the woods and get to work. Better now then later when he was tired. Although... Would the chance of Darkrai appearing rise the more tired he got? Something he'd have to test later. One way or another he'd find his friend and current research interest.

 

    With that in mind, Dipper quickly grabbed his satchel, and anything he may need, including a surplus of pens thanks to his bad habit of chewing on them till they burst. He made sure he had all five of his Pokemon on him, and his glasses were secured on his face. With all his bases covered, he shot a quick goodbye to his family, with a small explanation of where he was going, before heading out. About five steps from the shack, and he was only partially surprised by one of his pokeballs releasing on its own. Dipper then found himself being nuzzled by his Zoroark, the Pokemon obviously excited about being back.

 

    Dipper laughed, and stroked her head a few times, saying "It is great to be back, isn't it? But can you get off me! I'm trying to go do research!" This just got a huff from the overgrown fox, but she nonetheless got off her trainer. Dipper thanked her before heading off into the forest, his loyal companion by his side.

 

\----

 

    Half an hour later, Dipper was trying to calm a Shaymin who lost her Gracidea flower, and so couldn't transform to keep migrating. The Mythic Pokemon was quickly trying to explain where she lost it, and Dipper was quickly taking notes on where it is, as well as on the small Pokemon herself. Just because Shaymin wasn't his original intention to research, he wasn't going to waste the chance.

 

    Dipper was just about to send Zoroark and a few other of his Pokemon to search for the flower, when he heard something emerge from the underbrush behind him. A familiar high pitched, yet masculine, voice then stated "Well, Pine Tree, I see you continue the tradition of infuriatingly finding legendary Pokemon, before I even get the chance." Dipper groaned and turned around to confront the annoying voice, face contorted into a glare. He barely caught the infuriating teen freezing up as soon as he turned around, and was that a blush on his face? Before the fancily dressed teen cleared his throat, flicking his golden eye to the side for a second, running a hand through his tri-colored hair, before looking back at Dipper and adding with a smirk "Well, well, well. Looks like little Pine Tree had to get glasses over the year he's been away. So, four-eyes, I'm guessing you just got in today with Shooting Star?"

 

    Dipper scowled before snarling "Oh, can it, Bill. Yes we just got in today, is there a problem?" Arms now crossed over his chest in annoyance. Before the two could go any farther, there was two cries of happiness, and suddenly there was a large bundle of cuddling fur between the two teens. Both groaned in exasperation at their Zoroarks, now happily greeting each other and cuddling. They didn't even try to break them apart, the two had long since learned the siblings were unconcerned about their trainers rivalry, and would not break up their cuddling. Multiple attempts in the past had proven that.

 

    "Done?", Bill asked the Zoroarks who stopped their cuddling and were now playfully fighting.

 

    And as if wanting to say "no" both of them built the ball of fluff again. Dipper sighed and pulled out his journal again. There was no use in standing around watching their pokemon so he'd just go over his notes again. Now... The flower should be in the north-

    "What are you doing, Pine Tree?"

 

~~~~

 

_"What are you doing, Love?", he whispered with a voice hoarse from screaming. The man held the lifeless body against him, the tears he thought gone starting to fall again. The body was still warm, death having just claimed the other which made it even more painful. His blood was still running, dying everything red. Brown eyes opened wide, but without any spark of life in them. All of this was wrong, all of this was so so wrong. "What are you doing?", he repeats. "Leaving me alone like this?"_

_The man buried his nose into the others hair, registering the sorrowful cries of Celebi, as even now the little Pokemon tried to heal the dead man's wounds, all to no avail, to much damage for the Pokemon to fix. The sounds of Darkrai futilely trying to calm them both, while upset himself. All sounds the man registered but could do nothing about. Thats when he heard the faint sound of a Pokeball opening, and another heart breaking cry joined the fray. The man didn’t even need to look up to know which Pokemon had joined the mourning group. One of the dead man's most loyal companions in life._

_The man sobbed into his boyfriend's hair, already feeling the body quickly growing cold now that the heart could no longer pump warm blood through his system. “You weren’t supposed to leave me... You were the best thing that has ever happened to me… my light, my savior. What am I supposed to do without you?”_

 

\----

**Bea Muzb fok'n httwvm pv qdb Jhaq; pey Wzbobha qpj'q usexup qoiq eq mlmjo; xhk bea Coacoa fm UMSAO mlb fj pnvvb.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of our AU! Mir and I are working very hard on this, and have many things planned out! Please comment, we'd love to hear your opinions!
> 
> On another note... what sort of FUTURE is held for these two? What's with that bit of code? Could it be something important? Huh...
> 
> ~Aki
> 
>  
> 
> I too hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading! Also I would be surprised if any of you figure out what's about to come in a few chapters, I mean Caesar sure didn't see Brutus' betrayal coming... Anyway, hopefully see you next chapter!
> 
> \- Mir


	2. A BILLion Reasons

    Bill had been out in the forest for HOURS now, searching for Celebi, the legendary seeming to be eluding his grasp like always. Why it always came to Pine Tree whenever it wanted, but wouldn’t show for him, he didn’t know. He was BETTER than that little nerd, so why wouldn’t the dang legendary appear to him! He ran a successful organization that knew quite a bit about legendaries, he was smart, cunning, and if he was to say so himself, handsome. Bill was incredibly frustrated, and not even the presence of his loyal Zoroark was helping. He was about to give up for the day, and maybe take his frustration out on a few grunts, when he saw a figure he’d know ANYWHERE.

 

    Bill put on a smirk and quickly moved through the remaining underbrush to stand behind the figure, before stating "Well, Pine Tree, I see you continue the tradition of infuriatingly finding legendary Pokemon, before I even get the chance." Bill watched the teen dubbed ‘Pine Tree’ quickly turn around to face him with a glare, only for Bill to have his face slip from his smirk and his body freeze up, feeling heat flooding his face, most likely causing a barely noticeable blush on his darker skin, with only the simple thought of _‘Oh shit, glasses.’_ going through his head at the sight of the teen.

 

    Bill quickly composed himself again, clearing his throat with a glance to the side and running a quick hand through his hair to settle himself. This was PINE TREE, Dipper Pines, his annoying and nerdy rival. A pair of STUPID glasses didn’t change that! Bill quickly threw another smirk at the teen and added to his previous statement “Well, well, well. Looks like little Pine Tree had to get glasses over the year he’s been away. So, four-eyes, I’m guessing you just got in today with Shooting Star?”

 

    Bill successfully suppressed a chuckle at the scowl the other shot at him, him snarling out “Oh, can it, Bill. Yes we just got in today, is there a problem?” As he crossed his arms over his chest. Before Bill could say anything snide in reply, there was two cries of happiness. Suddenly there was a large bundle of cuddling fur between Bill and Dipper. Bill groaned in exasperation along with Pine Tree at the two Zoroarks. Neither of them moved to break the two siblings up, after all, Bill could remember all the times they had TRIED, and it ended in nothing but frustration, and the rare occasion of being pinned into the pile with the siblings.

 

    As the two Zoroarks finally pulled away to play fight, Bill proceeded to ask in exasperation “Done?” Only for the two to quickly start cuddling each other again, as if to say no. Bill heard a sigh from Pine Tree, and quickly looked up to see him with his nose buried in his journal, seemingly deep in thought. Bill quickly snuck over and peeked over Pine Tree’s shoulder and said “What are you doing, Pine Tree?”

 

    "None of your business", Dipper muttered and turned around.

 

    "You sure? I can be useful!"

 

    Pine Tree just scowled at him and stated "No thanks, Bill, I'm fine on my own." Before turning and walking off a bit. He then proceeded to put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loud and sharp before saying "Zoroark, we need to go now. Shaymin is depending on us." The man's Zoroark quickly pulled itself from Bill's with a quick lick to the top of her head. She then quickly followed her trainer, who had gathered the Shaymin and was already heading through the forest.

 

    Bill huffed and turned to his own Zoroark and stated "Well isn't HE a ray of sunshine?" Only to get a look from her as if to say 'and WHOSE fault is that?' Bill rolled his eye at it. He quickly made sure his top hat was secure on his head, then straightened his bow tie, before saying "Think they're far enough away to safely tail them by now? After all, there's a chance Celebi might appear around the nerd. Seems to like him..." His Zoroark just let out a sound resembling a sigh. Bill grinned and exclaimed "I'll take that as a yes! Let's go then!" Before heading through the underbrush in the direction Pine Tree went, Zoroark quickly trailing after him.

 

    Following his rival wasn't exactly hard, Bill knew this forest better than anybody else. He spent most of his free time here and the path Dipper seemed to be following was one of the safer ones. The chance of running into something that could and probably would hurt you was rather low unless you abandon it. No way Pine Tree would do that on his first day ba- he was doing it. Bill cursed when he saw that Dipper had left the trail and walked straight into the parts he had mentally dubbed 'DANGEROUS' in bright red letters. Not something he did often. Once again he muttered curses in the various languages he had picked up while traveling.

    Great. Amazing.

    Go and get yourself into danger, Pine Tree. Don't worry about anything.

    "If you die now, don't count on me to get your corpse back to your family." Bill muttered to himself.

 

    After, more or less, one and a half hours, changing the direction at least a hundred times, crossing a river and scribbling something in his journal, Pine Tree finally seemed to have reached a point of exhaustion. Well, at least he wasn't injured yet, that Bill counted as an achievement. Pine Tree could be, and usually was, a bit clumsy. Great amusement if you asked him.

 

    "Alright", Dipper said to his Zoroark, and the Shaymin sitting on top of the dark type pokemon's head. "We traced back every step you took since you lost your flower. It has to be here somewhere."

 

    So that was what Pine Tree was doing, he was searching for the Shaymin's Gracidea and not just walking lost through the forest like an idiot. Bill huffed a quiet laugh, he guessed Dipper was smarter than he thought. Though a quick scan of the area showed no signs of the distinguishable flower. Bill huffed a quiet laugh, perhaps the idiot messed up and ended up in the wrong place. With that Bill settled for watching Pine Tree realize his mistake, and the subsequent, most likely entertaining, reactions that would follow the realization.

 

    It only took a few minutes for Bill’s assumption to be proven wrong. Bill had watched Pine Tree examine the entire area, suppressing more and more chuckles as the teen didn't find the needed flower and grew more and more frustrated. But soon Bill watched Pine Tree crouch down in what seemed to be a completely unassuming spot, and startled a bit at the teens sudden exclamation. "Ah-hah! I knew there had to be SOMETHING here!" The blonde blinked in surprise at what Pine Tree exclaimed. Everything after that happened rather fast. The teen looked around some more in the same spot with an always bigger growing smile. Bill cursed his limited vision. He had to know what was going on there because it seemed to be something important.

 

    “Hey, Zoroark, remember the summer five years ago?”

 

    Dipper made a short break as if he expected the pokemon to answer which of course it didn’t. Then he sighed.

 

    “Right, stupid question. You probably don’t remember you were still pretty young back then… Anyway, I spent a lot of time with tracking pokemon so I’m sure I know every footprint and claw mark of every pokemon living here and this one strongly resembles the one of a Liepard! Considering that a lot of the Liepards here are stealing rather often and that over there are some more marks, I’d say we got our culprit!”

 

    Bill quickly had to scramble to follow the determined teen as he pointed out the direction he was sure the Pokemon went, and started running after it, his Zoroark quickly sprinting after him, the Shaymin moved to the safety of her arms so as not to fall off. Bill's own Zoroark whined, obviously not wanting to have to follow anymore. Bill sighed as he sprinted and whispered "I have to see how this ends. Pine Tree might be smarter than I thought..." And he had already thought of the other as clever. Sure, more book smart than anything else but it seemed that Dipper Pines was ready to surprise him.

 

    Approximately 20 minutes later, Pine Tree seemed to have found the culprit, sitting in front of a hollowed tree with a small pile of obviously stolen items, the Gracidea on the very top of said pile. The Liepard almost seemed to be waiting for someone, stareing off with its back to Pine Tree, tail contently swishing behind it.

 

    Bill quietly watched Pine Tree from his current hiding place behind a few trees, as the teen quietly motioned for his Zoroark to stay back. He reached for one of his Pokeballs and quickly threw it, bringing out his Torterra. Bill flinched a bit for the poor Liepard. Torterra was Pine Tree's first Pokemon, and just as formidable as he looked. After all, he had been with Pine Tree and trained with him since the beginning.

 

    Pine Tree shouted "Use Leech Seed!"  And Torterra quickly followed the order, launching the seeds from the tree on its back, right as the Liepard turned to see them, quickly getting tangled in the vines that grew from the seeds. The Liepard started struggling in the vines that were slowly but steadily sapping its strength. The Liepard quickly looked at the trainer that ordered the attack, only for it to widen its eyes and go slack. It let out a pleading cry, eyes locked with Pine Tree's. Bill thought it was trying to catch sympathy to be let go, but was surprised when Pine Tree suddenly jolted forward exclaiming "Oh, shit!" Bill watched baffled as Pine Tree called off Torterra, returning him to his Pokeball, and helped free the Liepard. He was even more confused when the newly freed Liepard sat in front of Pine Tree and nudged his hand as if it KNEW him.

 

    Pine Tree quickly stroked the Liepard's head and stated "Sorry, Liepard, I didn't know it was YOU. I'm guessing Grunkle Stan is having you steal things for him again?" The Liepard yawned and nodded it's head. Bill quickly put two and two together, gaining his explanation. The Liepard must be Stanley's own Pokemon, explaining how it and Pine Tree knew each other, and the con artist had it out stealing items for Stan to gather up later, which is why the Liepard was waiting in front of the pile.

 

    Pine Tree proceeded to sigh and remark "Well, I'm afraid you took something that I need back. That flower there? I need to return that to its owner. She needs it to get home." The Liepard whined in disappointment but nodded, quickly padding over and grabbing the Gracidea from the top of her pile, handing it over to Pine Tree. Pine Tree smiled and gently patted the Liepard on the head uttering a "Good girl." (Bill did NOT think Pine Tree looked cute when he smiled like that, nope.) Before he went over to his Zoroark, who was still holding the Shaymin, and the Liepard went back to her watch.

 

    Bill watched as Pine Tree quickly gave the Gracidea to Shaymin, who happily accepted it and transformed. The Shaymin then thanked Pine Tree, who simply brushed it off saying it was no problem, before she flew off. But even after that Bill still kept hidden as Pine Tree pulled his journal back out and started walking off, back in the general direction of the Mystery Shack if Bill had his coordinates right, jotting information down in it. It wasn't till he heard a startled cry that sounded a lot like Pine Tree that Bill took off after him, his Zoroark following after him.

 

    Bill caught up with Pine Tree's location just in time to watch him return his Zoroark who had obviously fainted trying to protect him from an enraged Tyranitar. Bill had just started debating the pro's and con's of jumping out and helping Pine Tree, right when Pine Tree threw something at the Tyranitar, quickly booking it out of there while it was distracted, dropping his journal along the way.

 

    Whatever Pine Tree threw at the Tyranitar seemed to have hit it in the face, exploding into black ink upon contact, completely covering the Pokemon's face, seeming to have temporarily blinded it. Bill remained hidden as he watched the Tyranitar wipe its face with its claws, roaring, before stomping off in, thankfully, the opposite direction of Bill, still obviously infuriated.

 

    Bill waited a few minutes before carefully sneaking out of his hiding place, his Zoroark giving a whine to try and get him to stay, and heading over to Pine Tree's dropped journal. He quickly picked it up, before looking around and making sure Pine Tree wasn't heading back for it. Seeing no Pine Tree, Bill guessed he hadn't noticed its absence yet. He grinned then exclaimed "Well then, since Pine Tree hasn't came back to get this, I guess I'll just take it for now. Wonder what he has written in this thing anyways..." Bill shrugged then added "I guess we'll find out, once we get back, won't we?" He directed at his Zoroark. She groaned, obviously not in support of snooping. Bill just laughed at the reaction, already heading back towards base, journal held in his hand.

 

~~~~

 

_He pressed himself further against the hollow tree when he heard the steps on the muddy ground. Please not them, please not them. He couldn't go back, he didn't want to go back. He held his breath, fearing that it would give away his position. Suddenly the steps stopped and he could see a pair of black shoes standing directly in front of him. What to do now? Should he run out of his hideout and pray he could get away fast enough or just stay and hope he wouldn't be found. But before he could make a decision something dropped on the ground, then the person started walking away. He waited another five minutes before he dared to see what it was._

_He reached out for the white piece of clothing with his small hands, then pulled it inside with him. A jacket, or some sort of lab coat? Anyways, he pulled the far too big jacket around him, feeling some sort of warm comfort with being surrounded by it. Luckily it hadn't gotten that wet and dirty while laying on the muddy forest ground in the rain. Although in his situation he didn't really care about that anymore. But even if he did, he had to admit the triangles on it's sides looked pretty awesome._

_The child smiled a little and allowed himself to sink more into the jacket. He would keep this, it could help the cold days and nights be a bit more bearable. Plus the jacket WAS oddly soothing…_

  


\---

**2 16-16-3-16 22-16-7-6-26 18-20-23-13-4 6-17, 14-26-3 21-16-16 4-17-23-5-23-10-15-19-5 7-23-23-23-16-5-4 5-9-13-24!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was fun! Although writing someone more intelligent that you sure is hard. I hope we didn't fail to hard and of course that you enjoyed this chapter! Everybody who figured out the last code, awesome! And those who didn't - don't worry Aki and I aren't good at stuff like that either. Anyways here's the hint for this chapter:
> 
> The code you need has been there from the start.  
> Hidden in the most underrated part.  
> It's humor may to you have been lost.  
> But we hope the code you'll stumble across.
> 
> Riddles are hard and mod Aki apologizes since this is her first riddle she has written.
> 
> See you next chapter!
> 
> ~Mir/Aki


	3. Victory is Sweet, but Revenge is Sweeter

     "Where is it? It can't be gone, no, I had it this morning, where did I-"

 

     "Dip-dop, can you please stop acting so weird? You're driving me a bit crazy here with your constant talking and walking up and down", Mabel interrupted her brother's mumbling. She was currently making some Poké Puffs for their Pokemon but her brother's behavior was more than a bit annoying when she was trying to concentrate.

 

     "You don't understand, Mabel! It's  _ gone _ !"

 

     "What’s gone?"

 

     "My journal!"

 

     "So what?", she sighed.

 

     Dipper couldn't believe his sister. Why couldn't she understand how terrible that was?! His journal was filled with everything he knew, four whole years of labor and adventures just gone! He took a deep breath. Calm down, he told himself. Don't panic, you  _ will _ find it.

 

     He decided to go through his day once again. They arrived in Gravity Falls, went to the optometrist, returned home and he made lunch. He was sure he still had the journal while he made lunch. He knew he hadn't just left it lying around somewhere, he wasn't stupid or that careless.

 

     What did he do after they ate? Right, he walked into the forest with Zoroark and they helped out a Shaymin while Bill was being the usual annoying-

Bill.

 

     Of course, how could he have not realized that earlier?! Oh, it was all too obvious now, Bill had the journal! He stole it!

 

     "I'm out again!", he announced and grabbed his bag. He needed his journal back  _ now _ .

 

     "Already? You just came back", Stan voiced, surprised.

 

     "Yes, Bill has my journal, I need it back!"

 

     "Bill? The triangle freak you always fight with?"

 

     "Yes! Now, excuse me, I have to find it."

 

     Dipper was already starting to walk out of the room, set on giving Bill a piece of his mind before Stan stopped him.

 

     "Kid, I know that journal is important to you but I have something even more important here!"

 

     Then he pulled out some flier seemingly out of nowhere and held it right in Dipper's face. The brunet took a step back. What could be more important than getting his journal back?

 

     "What is that?", Mabel asked while adding some berries to her dough.

 

     "This is our new TV! The Northwests are housing a tournament and the prize money is 2500 dollars! I've been hoping you two would get back in time for it!"

 

     Dipper stared at their Grunkle. He couldn't believe it! A tournament was supposed to be more important than his journal?!

 

     "Why don't you go and fight in it yourself, then, instead of using us to make money!?"

 

     "Kid, these bones are  _ old _ and my Pokemon's aren't much younger. I could die of a heart attack while fighting out there."

 

     That was a lie. Stanley Pines was one of the fittest old men, if not  _ the _ fittest old man, Dipper knew. It probably came from all the running from the law.

 

     "A tournament? Oh, that's going to be so much fun! I've been waiting for some good fights for ages!", Mabel cheered.

 

     "You could always fight against me."

 

     "Sure, but you're never there. Always out, writing in that journal."

 

     "Exactly, and that's why I need it back right now! I've put too much work into it to lose it!"

 

     "Gravity Falls is small, it will come back to you in no time."

 

     Dipper growled in frustration. Why didn't they get how important this is to him?! If Mabel lost her knitting equipment both Stan and himself would help  _ her  _ find them again. But his journal, filled with his knowledge of legendaries and some blueprints and designs for some inventions, and YEARS of work, was deemed unimportant. Dipper clenched his hands into fists, fuming in anger, teeth clenched tightly together. Stan and Mabel, though, both seemed oblivious to Dipper’s anger. 

 

     “So, when and where exactly is this taking place? Dip and I can’t fight in it if we can’t get there on time!” Mabel cheered happily.

 

     “Who said I was going to fight in it!? I need to find my journal!” Dipper hollered with a glare.

 

     “DipDop, you can find your journal LATER! Grunkle Stan needs the money, and if we BOTH enter, it's more likely we can win!”

 

     “Gah! Why can’t you-”

 

     “Kid, just go to the tournament. That journal of yours will turn up sooner or later, just like your sister said. And if not, you can use some of the earnings to buy you a new journal. It’s no big deal.”

 

     Dipper glared but finally gritted out “Fine. I’ll go to the stupid tournament.” Though he sure as hell wouldn’t do it for Stan… actually, this could be a great way to get back at the two for not helping him find his journal. After all, it wasn’t the journal in itself he wanted back, but the content IN it. Simply buying a new journal wouldn’t do ANYTHING for him, he would have still lost all his hard work, all of his information and inventions.

 

     "Tournament! Tournament! We're so going to win this!", Mabel cheered.

 

     Dipper rolled his eyes. "I'm going upstairs." Before quickly marching away, blocking out Mabel’s cheers. Once upstairs, he quickly set to work. He had vengeance to plan, after all. Never let it be said Dipper Pines was not a vindictive person. He knew very well he was. Revenge was underrated and so so sweet, and Dipper felt there was some vengeance needed against his family. If they were going to act like his issues and hard work wasn’t important, then they needed some payback. And what better way to do so than through Grunkle Stan’s greed?

 

     It didn’t take long for Dipper to have the perfect plan. It would look like an accident, not something done purposefully, but hit home nonetheless. He hummed and quickly headed back down and hollered “Since I’m being forced into this anyways, I’m going out to get my Pokemon ready for this!” He didn’t wait for any replies before slipping out, and partially into the woods surrounding the shack.

 

     Once he felt like Mabel and Stan wouldn’t be able to find him even if they looked, he quickly set about bringing out all his Pokemon and informing them of his plan. Some seemed upset over having to do this, simply because of their pride, but there were those that hopped on the plan, ready to help their trainer get revenge, even at the cost of their own pride. Dipper grinned, this was going to be a piece of cake.

 

\----

 

     "Come on, hurry! We don't wanna be late!"

 

     "I heard that Pacifica Northwest herself is going to participate!" "No way!"

 

     "Dragon is the best type!" "No!" "Yes!"

 

     Bill rolled his eyes. That was why he despised social gatherings, half of all the humans were stupid, most were annoying and only a small percent were decent and useful. For those few, he was at this tournament today. The young man hoped to find some good fighters that he could win over for his plans. Maybe they'd be smart too. That would be so much more useful. He already had enough mindless underlings and his group of researcher could use a bit more support.

 

     He made his way through the mass of people until he got to the makeshift battleground. It was surprisingly small considering all of this was organized by the Northwests. On the other hand, Gravity Falls was a small town. The few rows of chairs were enough, nevertheless, they held a certain standard. Not just plastic chairs, that would be below the Northwests.  Bill searched for a good seat, found one directly in the front row. Shortly after Preston Northwest made an announcement.

 

     How happy he was to see so many visitors here, and that so many Pokemon Trainers had signed up, the rules, three Pokemon, first to lose, blahblahblah. Uninteresting and fake. The man kept talking for another ten minutes. 

 

     Bill hummed when he finally announced the first battle. The first name was unknown to Bill. Something like Mirror? He wasn’t sure. Nonetheless, the second name mentioned quickly caught his attention.

 

     “Pine Tree’s here?” Bill was excited. It was always interesting to watch Pine Tree fight. He now had an assurance his trip wasn’t a waste at least, as well. He hadn't read all of the teen's journal yet but what he had already read was very interesting, and very promising.

 

     The teen started with his Torterra while his opponent chose a Charmeleon.  Grass against fire, Dipper would clearly have a harder time.

 

     "Begin!", Preston called.

 

     "Charmeleon, use Fire Fang, quick!", the trainer shouted and the Pokemon ran up to the Torterra who was too slow to move and got bitten in its front leg.

 

    "Now, Em-"

 

     "Torterra, Leaf Storm!", Dipper called.

 

     The attack pushed the Charmeleon back, a critical hit too. But the fire Pokemon stood up again not willing to go down like that. It started another attack but the Torterra's Giga Drain was too much for it, and the Charmeleon fainted.

 

     “You did well”, the trainer said and called the Pokemon back.

 

     “Delphox, your turn!”

 

     A Delphox? A fire Pokemon against Pine Tree's grass type one. Bill grinned. This fight was bound to be interesting.The brunette teen didn't even hesitate and directly let his Torterra attack."Earthquake!"

 

     The ground started shaking and Bill was pretty happy he didn't stand where the Delphox did. He had been hit with that attack before, Dipper's Torterra's Earthquake could be rather cruel. Nevertheless, the Delphox held its own and attacked with Mythical Fire directly followed by Ember and various other fire type attacks. No matter Torterra's strength, the grass Pokemon was defeated through the several burns it suffered. With a proud smile, Pine Tree called his Torterra back. Bill had yet to see a time where the other wasn't proud of his Pokemon. Then he threw the next Pokeball.

 

     "Malamar, time to fight!"

 

     Determined the Pokemon took its stand on the battlefield holding his head high. That was a surprise, seemed like the young and easily frightened Inkay had evolved.

 

     "Em-"

 

     "Use Toxic!", Dipper interrupted the other trainer.

 

     Quick the dark Pokemon came close to the already exhausted Delphox and poisoned the fire type. After that, it was a fairly quick battle. The Pokemon exchanged a few blows until the Delphox admitted defeat. Its trainer called it back and an Amaura took over that side of the battlefield.

 

     "Only one Pokemon left on Mir's side! If the Amaura loses, the victory will go to Dipper!", some moderator announced unnecessarily. It was obvious after all. It had absolutely no effect- Bill grimaced. The Amaura was shaking like a leaf and constantly looking around at all the people watching. Oh, dear. Seemed like it hadn't fought very often yet. A clear advantage for Pine Tree who directly made use of it. While the Amaura was still looking around, Dipper and his Malmar take the chance and attack.

 

     "Hyper Beam!"

 

     The Malmar's attack landed a direct hit, the damage done to the Amaura wouldn't be light. It would be a wonder if it could stand up again at all.

 

     As predicted the Pokemon laid defeated on the ground. It raised its head just once more but didn't manage to hold it up high.

 

     "Victory goes to Dipper Pines!", the judge called while both Pokemon were called back.

 

     The trainers shook each other's hand and, if Bill wasn't mistaken, Dipper and the other one had a quick talk before both left the battlefield.

 

     Bill was about ready to be bored again before another surprise hit him. Seems Shooting Star was the next up to battle, with a girl named Maki or something? Bill didn’t really care, he was just interested to see Shooting Star fight. It was a bit of a rarity for Bill to see.

 

     Bill smiled as Shooting Star called out her Milotic first, seems she finally got that Feebas to evolve then. He was wondering why she was struggling with that Pokemon for so long, seems her effort paid out. The other girl quickly brought out a very confident looking Leafeon. Bill chuckled, seems that Shooting Star had the disadvantage this time just like Pine Tree.

 

     The announcer once again called the match to start, and the two girls quickly got started.

 

     “Leafeon, Sunny Day!” Leafeon quickly followed the order, raising his head to the sky, eyes glowing bright white, the white engulfing the dark green wisp on his head, and soon a beam shot into the sky, making the sun brighter and chasing away any clouds around the battlefield. Bill had to admit, with what he knew of this Pokemon, that was a smart move. One way or another, the sunlight would provide a huge boost for the Pokemon depending on which ability the Leafeon may have, add in it weakens water types, well this move could seal Shooting Stars fate.

 

     Mabel quickly retaliated “Milotic, use Aqua Ring!” The Pokemon was quickly surrounded by three rings of water.

 

     “Leafeon, Solar Beam!” Bill whistled, that was a big one. No wonder the trainer had Sunny Day setup first, removes the whole charging issue. If that hit, there was a huge probability Milotic would be down.

 

     “Dodge, then use Ice Beam!” Milotic quickly avoided the attack, barely being grazed by the intense beam of sunlight, before firing its own attack. Leafeon cried out as it was hit, sending it back a few paces. 

 

     “Leafeon!” The fox Pokemon quickly scrambled up, obviously worse for wear from the super-effective attack, while Milotic healed what little damage she had obtained from the Solar Beam. Leafeon quickly looked at his owner with a weak grin, before turning back to the battle, seeming very determined. The girl seemed a bit relieved that her Pokemon was still going before she quickly commanded him to use Leaf Blade.

 

     From there it was rather quick, Leaf Blade did a great deal of damage to Milotic, but Shooting Star quickly got revenge with a quick Disarming Voice, knocking out the already weak Pokemon.

 

     The trainer seemed upset at the loss of her Pokemon but quickly returned Leafeon, before calling out a Ninetails. Bill wasn’t sure why she’d go with a Pokemon with a type disadvantage, but it made things interesting. Shooting Star was obviously excited, bouncing on the heels of her feet and grinning.

 

     “Ninetails, Solar Beam!” It was obvious Mabel was not expecting the attack, Milotic was hit and quickly went down. Mabel seemed to deflate a bit from this but quickly came back to her excitement.

 

     “Great job, Milotic! Sylveon, let's finish this!” Bill was starting to realize that the other trainer might have an obsession with foxes when her eyes lit up as soon as Shooting Star’s Sylveon came out, she also might have quietly squee’d but Bill couldn’t hear very well from here. Well now that Bill thought of it, so far all of her Pokemon have been foxes, and now that he was paying a little more attention he also realized she was wearing clothing designed to look like fox tails and a headband with fox ears. Well… he knew some trainers had a theme but Bill was thinking this might be a little much.

 

     The battle picked up quickly though. The other trainer did a Will-O-Wisp/Hex combo doing quite a bit of damage to Sylveon, but Mabel used a Draining Kiss that helped heal Sylveon a bit, then a Shadow Ball. The two Pokemon exchanged a few more blows, before Sylveon finished up with a Psyshock attack, causing Ninetails to faint. Once again the trainer seemed very disheartened her Pokemon fainted, but soon she sent out her next Pokemon. And once again it held to her theme.

 

     “Umbreon, I’m counting on you!”

 

     “Trainer Aki is down to 1 last Pokemon, if Umbreon faints, the win will go to Mabel Pines!”

 

      The battle was a lot quicker this time around. Umbreon tried a Psychic attack, but Sylveon avoided it, and a quick Moonblast had Umbreon almost down for the count. Sheer force of will kept the Pokemon standing, and the trainer seemed very worried for her Pokemon. Umbreon used Moonlight, healing a bit of her health, but Sylveon soon took Umbreon down with another Draining Kiss.

 

     “Umbreon is unable to battle, victory goes to Mabel Pines!” The other trainer groaned in defeat before carefully going to her Umbreon. She whispered something Bill couldn’t make out, at all, but by the smile on the Pokemon’s face, before she was returned, Bill guessed it was reassuring. Shooting Star proceeded to shake the girl's hand, they exchanged congratulations and good battles, and had a small chat, before departing.

 

     The following battles were a little boring, no one else could quite catch Bill’s interest like Pine Tree and Shooting Star. So he mostly zoned out thinking of plans until he heard one of the twins names called, only paying mild attention to the other battles, enough to know that none of the others participating really interested him. 

 

     It was in the semi-finals that things really picked up, and Bill was getting excited. He would honestly love to see a battle between the twins, and Shooting Star was up against Bud Gleeful, Bill was amazed Bud even made it this far. That man couldn’t beat a Magikarp with a Zapdos. Though Bill did have suspicions since he didn’t recognize many of the man's Pokemon as his. Perhaps he was borrowing from someone who can ACTUALLY raise Pokemon. One way or another, Bill was sure this would be an easy win for Shooting Star.

 

     Bill settled back to watch the fight and was unsurprised when Shooting Star quickly took down Bud’s Slowbro. But soon Bud brought out one of the Pokemon Bill didn’t recognize Bud having before, after all, he was pretty sure Bud only had what most would consider ‘lazy’ Pokemon. Those that were known more for sleeping and slacking off than fighting. And while some of them could be heavy hitters, or even have high defenses, it was usually a pain to get them to put much effort into a battle. But no, this Pokemon was not like Bud’s usual Pokemon, it was a Seviper, and a strong looking one at that, much stronger than Bud’s Pokemon looked. But still, if this was Bud, Shooting Star shouldn’t have many issues.

 

     But as the battle wore on, it seemed Shooting Star was slowly losing, and Bill didn’t know how this was possible. This was Bud, and even if this wasn’t his Pokemon, Shooting Star should be able to easily wipe the floor with him. But it took two of Shooting Star’s Pokemon to take out the Seviper, and then the last one fell to a Krookodile, another Pokemon Bill did not recognize as Bud’s. Bill was dumbstruck of how this could happen. How did Shooting Star loose to Bud Gleeful of all people? It didn’t make any sense. But, nonetheless, Shooting Star was nothing but cordial to Bud, congratulating him on his win and moving off to heal her Pokemon.

 

     Bill sighed, that was a bit of a disappointment. He was really looking forward to Pine Tree and Shooting Star fighting each other. But he did still get to look forward to watching Pine Tree wipe the floor with his next opponent, and then Bud. Bill grinned at that thought. 

 

     Bill fully zoned in again as soon as the battle was announced, Pine Tree versus Stitched Heart. He was sure this would be amusing, after all, Pine Tree and Stitched Heart still had a bit of a rivalry now, even if neither of them was after Red anymore, and had even become something similar to friends. Whenever they battled though, it got serious, as if they had to prove they were better than the other. Too bad for Stitched Heart’s pride it was usually Pine Tree that won.

 

     Stitched Heart and Pine Tree exchanged a few words before they sent out their first Pokemon. Stitched Heat sent out Luxray, and Pine Tree sent out Torterra, making Bill have to suppress bursting into laughter. The look on Stitched Heart’s face was one of resignation. It was obvious Pine Tree wasn’t playing around today if he was STARTING with the terror that was Torterra against the primarily electric type trainer, well ⅔ Pokemon were electric so it counted.

 

     With that the battle was quick. Luxray used Take Down, and while the attack did some decent damage against Torterra, it also damaged Luxray. Pine Tree then had Torterra use Earthquake, lifting his front two feet off the ground and slamming back down causing a crack to head straight for Luxray and for the ground to shake roughly, sending some unprepared saps in the front rows to fall over backward. Luxray went down in one hit, causing Stitched Heart to groan.

 

     “Oh come ON!”

 

     Pine Tree very obviously sneered at the exasperated man, snickering. Robbie just groaned again and sent out his next Pokemon, Absol.

 

     Stitched Heart quickly ordered Absol to use Perish Song, which she obeyed in a snap. Absol sang a dark song, crimson waves coming out of her mouth obviously hurting both her and Torterra. Bill whistled lowly. Both Pokemon were due to faint in just a few turns from that move. Pine Tree cursed before quickly ordering Torterra to use Giga Drain, healing most of the damage from Luxray’s Take Down. Absol then used Future Sight, causing her eyes to glow light blue for a minute, and Absol looked in a direction that Torterra was not currently in before the glow faded.

 

     Torterra proceeds to use Wood Hammer, knocking Absol out but dealing a good bit of damage to Torterra as well. Stitched Heart curses before sending out his Raichu, his last Pokemon.

 

     “Trainer Robbie is down to 1 last Pokemon, if Raichu faints, the win will go to Dipper Pines!” The announcer needlessly calls, causing quite a few groans to resound through the stadium. His little notification got repetitive after the second battle. Pine Tree and Stitched Heart just ignored it though and continued the battle.

 

     Stitched Heart had Raichu use Reversal, dealing minor damage to Torterra. Torterra countered with another Earthquake, Bill was a little saddened to see the meat sacks in the front rows were more prepared this time and didn’t fall again, causing Raichu to faint, only for red static to surround Torterra right after and caused him to faint very soon afterwards, Perish Song having finally taken full effect. The announcer blinked a bit confused for a second before calling;

 

    “Both Torterra and Raichu are unable to battle, victory goes to Dipper Pines!” Causing applause to break out.

 

     Stitched Heart very audibly cursed afterward, causing many parents to cover their children's ears. 

 

     “Arceus Dammit! That wasn’t even a fair fight! You didn’t even give me a fucking CHANCE! Just sent out that motherfucking Behemoth first!” Stitched Heart ranted stomping towards Pine Tree.

 

     Pine Tree very visibly rolled his eyes before saying, not as loud as Stitched Heart but still very audibly, “Oh stuff it, Robbie. I won fair and square, you’re just being a sore loser like always. So suck it up and let's get our Pokemon healed so I can finish this stupid ass Tournament.”

 

     Robbie let out a screech of very visible rage before flipping Pine Tree off and stalking off, hands in his pocket and posture slouched. Pine Tree threw his hands up in exasperation before marching off himself, though a smile was visible on his face even at the distance Bill was at. Bill just rolled his eye at the dramatics before excitedly awaiting the next battle. He couldn’t wait to see Pine Tree kick Bud’s  _ gleeful  _ ass. Bill snickered quietly at his own pun on that thought, kinda sad he couldn’t share it.

 

     It was a few minutes before the final match, Pine Tree obviously taking a bit to get his Pokemon fully healed, but finally both were standing on the field, Bud smiling cheerfully, and Pine Tree looking for all intents and purposes bored out of his mind, and the match was called.

 

     “Our final match is between Bud Gleeful and Dipper Pines. Like the last matches, both may use up to three Pokemon, the battle ends when all three are unable to battle. No substitutions are allowed during this match. With that, let the battle begin!”

 

     As the announcer called for the battle to begin, both Pine Tree and Bud quickly called out their first Pokemon. Pine Tree sending out Malamar, and Bud sending out his Slowbro. Bill almost giggled in giddy excitement, this battle would be so easy for Pine Tree. Already he had a type advantage on Slowbro, let alone Bill knew for a fact this Pokemon was weak, it’s one he recognized as Bud’s own. There was a quick exchange of attacks, both deciding to inflict status effects first turn. Slowbro used yawn, and Malamar used Toxic. On the turn, before Malamar would fall asleep, he followed with a quick Foul Play, doing quite a bit of damage to the Slowbro simply for the fact of type advantage. Bud was able to whittle down Malamar’s HP while he slept, but soon Slowbro was running on obvious fumes from the Toxic poisoning. Slowbro pulled a final Water Pulse, before fainting from poison damage. 

 

     Malamar seemed to barely withstand the attack, waking up and looking a bit droopy. Pine Tree still had an almost stoic and bored look on his face though, as he waited on Bud’s next Pokemon. Bud hummed a little before quickly recalling Slowbro, sending out the Seviper from earlier. It only took a quick Poison Jab from the snake Pokemon to take down Pine Tree’s Malamar. Pine Tree seemed to sigh, almost overly theatrically, before sending out his Torterra. Bill narrowed his eyes in thought, something was up here, he could just feel it.

 

     Another series of blows were exchanged, only for Torterra to faint before Seviper. Bill bit his lip, that can’t be quite right, Seviper may be well set against the partly poison type, and oddly strong for Bud, but Torterra was a beast. Bill quickly glanced at Pine Tree as he recalled his faithful starter, he seemed to be frowning in disappointment but… something in his eyes just screamed amusement, as if a plan was going right. What was Pine Tree planning?

 

     Soon Bill’s rival quickly tossed out his final Pokemon, not surprisingly it was his Zoroark. The faithful fox cooed happily at being in a battle, and the battle resumed after another announcement from the announcer. Zoroark seemed to be rather expertly dodging most attacks, while quickly knocking down Seviper’s health. Now that seemed a lot more normal, the fox Pokemon being both fast and quite strong, as well as tricky. Soon Seviper was down for the count, and Bud sent out his final Pokemon, the Krookodile from before. Bill was on the edge of his seat, watching the battle closely. It seemed to be a rather close battle, but Krookodile was seeming quite exhausted, and it almost seemed like Pine Tree would still pull a win. But…

 

     Bud called his next attack, Krookodile charging forward with a Foul Play, really that shouldn’t do overly much damage to Zoroark due to being the same type but… Bill watched the attack hit, and Zoroark stumbles back. He caught the Pokemon shooting a quick glance to Pine Tree, who seemed to barely nod, before the fox quickly swayed, and with a cry collapsed, fainted. A wave of cheers flooded the stadium, but Bill furrowed his eyebrows. That didn’t seem right, Zoroark should have been still standing after that attack. Bill knew the strength of Pine Tree’s Pokemon well, and that battle was lost to conveniently for Bill’s taste. Something was definitely wrong there.

 

     The battle was quickly called, Bud declared the winner, and gifted the check for $2,500, as Pine Tree congratulated the old, weak, trainer. Bill watched Pine Tree quickly stalk off to most likely heal his Pokemon, his single eye following the trainer until he walked out of sight. Bill barely stayed in his seat for the ending ceremony, replaying that battle over and over while calculating what he knew about Pine Tree’s strengths. Finally, the ceremony shit was over, and people were free to start leaving without question.

 

     Bill quickly got up from his seat and ran through the crowd. He wanted to get to Dipper before the other's family could get to the brunet. He passed trainers and their Pokemon, nearly running some kid over in his haste. Pine Tree had to still be nearby, and Bill needed to talk to him. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer on talking… or his offer. 

 

     Bill barely picked up a snatch of conversation as he blazed past two familiar looking trainers, barely registering they were the two that battled the twins in the beginning.

 

     “Miiirrrr, I can’t believe we lost.” Fox girl whined.

 

     “It WAS inevitable!” The other replied.

 

     “Yeah but it’s our stor…”

 

     And Bill was already out of hearing range, not really caring. He was not going to have Pine Tree vanish on him because he was being slow. Finally, he rounded a corner, catching sight of the teen he was looking for.

 

     “Pine Tree! There you are, hold up!” Bill called, grinning now. Pine Tree quickly turned around a scowl already on his face.

 

     "What do you want, Bill?"

 

     "Nothing, nothing! Just here to congratulate you on your victories! Even if you did lose in the end!", he exclaimed, maybe a bit too cheerfully.

 

      " _ You _ want to congratulate  _ me _ ?" Pine Tree raised one eyebrow. "Forgive me if I don't believe that."

 

     "You should, it is true after all. And on top of that, I have an offer for you!"

 

     “An offer”, the other repeated with the same skeptical voice as before. Bill was starting to get a bit annoyed.

 

     “Yes, an offer Pine Tree. A very good one too. You see, I run an organization, and I want you to join it.”

 

     "And what is this organization about?"

 

     "We research Pokemon and want to make the world a better place."

 

     “Why do I have a hard time believing that's all you do?”

 

     “Now Pine Tree, don’t be so suspicious! Honestly, we research Pokemon, especially legendaries, and it's all to make a world where the weak are protected by the strong, not pushed around and suppressed. And wouldn’t that be nice? A world where orphans are actually well taken care of and adopted, where the homeless are offered shelter and food, no more neglect, no more abuse, and even if there is it's handled better. Where anyone can point out injustice and it will be fairly dealt with, not just ignored.” Bill rambled out the very simple version of his plan, so caught up in explaining he didn’t note the flash of surprise during his spiel. By the time he was paying attention fully again, Pine Tree was back to glaring at him.

 

     “... Even if I do fully believe that is all, Cipher, why do you want me? It’s not like we’re friends or something.”

 

     Bill grinned slyly, fishing out the journal Pine Tree dropped. “Well, quite frankly, while we’re not friends. You are a strong battler and…” He finally offered the journal to Pine Tree, whose eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing again and quickly snatching it back while Bill continued as if he didn’t do so. “You’re obviously quite smart. I have enough battlers, but I need more brains, and it seems you fit the description Pine Tree!”

 

     “So… you stole-”

 

     “Found, Pine Tree, I found it lying on the ground in the middle of the forest.” Bill quickly corrected, still grinning smugly.

 

     Pine Tree made a sound similar to a growl before continuing “STOLE since you didn’t think to RETURN IT and knew it was mine! Nonetheless, you stole it and read it and decided you needed more brains on your team?”

 

     Bill’s eye twitched a little, and his grin turned a bit more strained, but he said “More or less, well I didn’t read it so much as pick up bits and pieces because your handwriting is atrocious, but anyways. Yes, that is more or less what happened.”

 

     Pine Tree sighed in exasperation before tucking his Journal away. “... Are there any benefits to this? Pay? Is it really as positive as it sounds?”

 

     Bill’s grin returned back into full beam and he cheerily said “I didn’t say a word that was a lie Pine Tree!~ And I do pay, yes, and on top of that think of all the info you will gain, it’ll be fun~” Bill finally offered his hand to the teen, eye twinkling in excitement.

 

     “So, what do you say Pine Tree? Want to join?”

 

~~~~

 

_      A white haired teen grinned as he went over the information he had gained, eyes glittering with barely concealed malice. “While I’ll be, it seems we now know what dear William’s plans are, don’t we?” He drawled with a rather heavy southern accent. He quickly got up, motioning for his lackeys. “Prepare for an attack! We’re gonna be HEROES soon as we stop this evil organization!” He called in excitement. There was a resounding cheer as they all quickly headed out to prepare. The teen quickly sat back down grinning. _

 

_      “I’ll end this quickly, and maybe then my sweet sugah pea will fall in love with me then.” He giggled eerily, as he gazed at a stolen photograph of a teen girl with brown eyes and hair. _

 

\----

**Rarex vtcnhi ovd v thidrfbritr, rari nq xhb shi'c drr nc xrc…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I’m very sorry this chapter took so long, but as a note of warning for the future, I suck at keeping a good schedule on updates. Especially since I’m in college now. On another, slightly sadder note, there is a good probability this will be the last chapter truly co-written by Mir and myself. This is still very much a story we made together, and it will always be, but when it comes down to the actual writing of it… well Mir kind of fell out of the BillDip fandom, and I can see why. I did the same for awhile. BUT I’m going to try to keep this fic going! And if Mir doesn’t mind perhaps they’ll still read through or give me ideas! But from here on out there is a good chance it will just be me writing this.
> 
> Now! The cipher at the end… your hint is it’s quite simple. 2 different very simple ciphers. Extra hint number two: Solve for X! (16-x)/sqrt(x)=6
> 
> Thanks for reading! ~Aki
> 
> OH HEY as an extra note: If you want to see how Mir and I appear in this fic we drew pictures awhile back ago for it! Here's a link: http://nqam-official.tumblr.com/post/159394994257/here-is-the-pictures-mir-and-i-drew-for-how-we  
> Remember this fic has a tumblr, obviously, and while I don't check it often I'll try to check it a bit more. It's also where art is posted. There's pics of Dip's and Bills designs already posted there as well! ~Aki


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